A Life Full Of Stars
by Dragons-Flying-High
Summary: Olivia is 15. Her grades are bad, her home life is terrible due to her parents who act as if she isn't even there, and the only person she has that's even close to a friend is her English teacher, Mrs Hartford. So when she's hiding in her usual spot, skipping classes, and ends up meeting a tall man with a blue box and a bow tie, her whole world takes a turn for the better.
1. Chapter 1

I arrived home from school, threw my coat over the bannister, ran up the stairs to my bedroom and slammed the door shut, just like every other day. If I hid in my room for the night I might be able to avoid them both. I would just say I wasn't hungry when they called me for dinner. This was how nearly every day went by.

Flopping down on my bed, I recalled what homework I'd been given that day. A few pages of Biology, some more Macbeth for English, and some for maths that I would no doubt leave for the last minute. I didn't see the point in homework, I wasn't passing the classes with flying colours anyway so fat lot of good revision would be. I just wanted to be 16 so I could move out of my parents house and get away from all the arguing that went on between them. At first I would drown it out with music, but I'd become so used to it I didn't need the music any more. The only problem with moving out was getting a job and finding money to buy or rent a place, and since I was pretty sure that I'd end up leaving school with the bare minimums, I was afraid I was going to be stuck in that house forever. Sighing, I decided to not let it worry me at the moment. After all, I was only 15, I had just under a year to think about it.

Dumping my school bag on the floor by my bed, I went over and sat at my old, falling apart desk where my laptop sat. It was fairly new, and quite expensive actually, but the only reason I had it was my parents thinking that shiny expensive laptops would make the fact that they argued all the time and paid little to no attention to me _all_ better. I switched the machine on, and I was soon greeted by the login screen.

I didn't do much on the internet apart from watch films or tv shows. I didn't have any accounts on any social networks, purely because there was no point, I didn't have any friends. I ate lunch by myself at school and buried myself in books to stop the loneliness, and in class I just sat and doodled in my books, not paying attention. I couldn't pay attention, because the only way to stop the crushing realisation that I was practically all alone in the world was to day dream and doodle and read and write. It was my only escape.

So I did what I normally did when I came home from school; lock myself in my room for the whole night and start a new tv show. I bought food at lunch from the shops near the school, so I didn't need to go down for dinner much. I'd managed to sneak in the camping stove from the shed, so I was able to have a hot meal if I wanted, then just sneak to the bathroom and wash the dishes in there. My parents didn't mind, or more they didn't care. They were so wrapped up in their hectic lives of running a massive company that they practically forgot that they has a daughter who didn't have a single friend in the world.

This was typical for me though, so I just got on with it. Scrolling through a page of links, I tried to decide what to watch. Then only problem with having so much time for tv shows was running out of ones to watch. After about an hour of scrolling, I sighed and gave up, frustrated and angry. Closing the laptop down, I reached for the book that lay in my bag, and I picked up where I'd left off when the bell rang for the end of lunch. My only interruption was my mother bursting through my door.

"Olivia, have you seen my red heels anywhere?" she said, coming into my room without even knocking. I let out a silent curse as I put my book down.

"No, why would I know where your stupid heels are?" I retorted, my anger getting the better of me.

"Oi, enough of your cheek young lady," my mother tutted, before strutting out the room and leaving the door wide open in her wake. I silently cursed again before slamming the door and trying to get back into my book. I tired, but I just couldn't, my brain wouldn't shut up about how I had just under a year till I was 16 and able to move out. It wouldn't shut up about the fact that I'd have the legal ability to move out, but not the money or the job. I was sure that if I asked my darling father he would give me plenty of money, but I straight up refused to take any sort of charity from either of them. I would rather have sold my soul then accept their compensation gifts.

Frustrated, angry, and upset, and threw my book down to floor and just sat there, staring into endless space. I tended to space out a lot while in class, just one of the reasons I was failing school in it's entirety. The only class I was good at was English, and that was only because my teacher was amazingly kind and supportive. Some how she knew my home life wasn't the best, and she took it upon herself to help out, whether it be talking to be about tv shows during lunch, or recommending books to me. She was more of a mother figure to me that my own mother was. Thinking that I owed it to Mrs Hartford to at least attempt the homework I'd been given, I got out my copy of Macbeth and started going over the banquet scene, making notes and annotations as I went. I found it quite boring, but I had to at least pass one exam at the end of the year to stop myself feeling totally worthless.

When 8pm came, I was sitting eating my dinner of cold pasta that I'd bought from the shop that day. Finishing up the surprisingly tasty food, I decided to call it an early night, as I had a double maths lesson first thing the next day, and the last time I fell asleep in a class I had to do a heap of lines. Throwing on an old t-shirt and some pyjama bottoms, I crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling till I drifted off into glorious sleep.

* * *

Morning came, along with the buzzing of my alarm, and I quickly got ready for school. I was eager to get out of the house, as at least at school I could read in peace. I shoved all the books and jotters I needed for the day into my bag, threw my jumper on over my black t-shirt, and left the house with my old pair of converse on. My parents were both still asleep as usual, not paying the slightest attention to their daughter.

It was cold, typical for an August morning in Scotland, but I gritted my teeth and bared it. The sooner I got to school, the sooner I'd be warm. I weaved through back lanes and small roads, avoiding the routes that people normally took. I tended to only meet a few people on my way to school, and they were mostly adults on their way to the corner shops. That was the way I liked it; I kept quiet and out of everyone's way and I remained mostly unnoticed, meaning I could spend most of my time in my own little world of fiction. Not a day passed when I wasn't engrossed in a book nearly every class. The teachers gave up trying to get me to concentrate, so they just let me get on with my reading while they got on with their teaching. I enjoyed it actually, I could tune out of the drone of the class as soon as my eyes hit words.

Reaching the large gates of the school, I swiftly made my way through the crowds that stood by the front door, talking about relationships and friends and reality shows. I could feel the glares I got on the back of my neck, and it took all my willpower not to flip them the finger as one of them muttered "freak" to her friends, causing an uproar of laughter and sniggers. I got inside the building as fast as I could, speed walking past the janitors and teachers towards my usual spot. One day a few years ago I'd discovered a nice hidden away spot, with a bench by a window. I'd designated it as my reading spot, but I was there during break and lunch every day, and every bit of free time in between. The only other person who knew of the spot was Mrs Hartford, and that was only because she'd asked me where I disappear to everyday. I got there without anyone seeing me, and I dropped my bag to the floor. In truth I had no idea why it was there, but I presumed a classroom used to be there, due to the new looking section of wall. I was grateful for it though, and on more than one occasion I would just skip class to sit there and read. It never got reported, I was so unseen in class that nobody noticed I was gone.

Sighing, I decided today was one of those days. There was no way I was going to Chemistry, I just couldn't face a whole double lesson of sitting at the little table on my own, all alone as usual. Pulling out my book, I got comfy and started to read where I'd left off the previous night, and before long the bell rang for the second lesson to end.

I didn't move from my spot until lunchtime, where I shot out of the front door, eager to get to the shops and back again as fast as I could. Picking up a chicken creaser wrap and a pot noodle for dinner, I hastily made my way back to school. I was nearly there, turning a corner of a back lane, when I hit something solid and fell backwards, landing on my behind.

"Watch it!" a shrill voice said. I looked up and saw a tall red headed girl, nobody I recognised, on the ground as well.

"S-sorry," I managed to stutter, while clambering to stand up again, but one of her friends pushed me down again.

"You'll be sorry, weirdo," the red head said, standing up and sorting her skirt. "Jane, grab her bag."

"Get off!" I yelled as a blonde girl tugged at the bag on my shoulder. She managed to tug it off me, smirking all the while. "Give it back!"

"Give it back!" another one imitated, causing all her friends to laugh at me. "If you want it so bad, why don't you come get it?"

"Just give it back okay," I tried to reason, but they just laughed again and started going through my stuff. My food was the first thing they threw on the ground, but it was fine due to its packaging. Next came my jotters and pens, all emptied out onto the tarmac. Then one of then held up my book.

"Aww, look at this, freaks precious book," the red head said, taking it from the other girls hand. "Wouldn't it be a shame if something were to happen to it, a tragic accident." As she said this, she began to tear pages out, one by one while she gave me a mocking grin. I wanted to punch her right then and there, but I knew I was powerless against all of them. She kept pulling them out, scrunching them out and throwing them to the ground, and all I could do was stand and watch. I felt tears well up in my eyes, but I refused to show weakness in front of them, it was just what they wanted.

"Excuse me, put the book down," a voice said, and we all looked behind the pack of girls to see a rather tall man in a coat and bow-tie. "Give her back the book and leave her alone."

I was mystified that someone was defending me, let alone demanding things from these other girls. The red-head obviously saw it was pointless to argue with an adult, so she dropped it on the ground where she stood, and the posse walked away down another ally. The man stood, making sure they were gone, before walking up to me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding completely genuine. He started to gather up my things that lay across the ground, putting them back into my bag.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just.. my book," I answered, muttering at the end as my eyes ran over the strewn pages that started to waft slightly in the breeze.

"Are you sure? No cuts or bruises?" he asked again, kindly. I nodded and he gave a soft smile. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been more help."

"No, it's fine, you practically saved my ass," I told the stranger, and he let out a slight chuckle. He handed me back my bag, now with everything in it. "Thank you again."

"No need to thank me, what kind of person would I be if I had just walked past someone getting bullied? I'm sorry about your book, I do like that one," he said, pointing to the cover that had_ Frankenstein_ written on it.

"Yeah, it's pretty good. And it's fine, I'm sure I'll manage to pick up another copy somewhere," I assured him.

"Well then, have fun at school, and don't let those girls bully you again," the man said. He have me a quick wave, pulled out an odd metallic cylinder, and ran off in a strange direction. I was still quite bemused by the strange encounter, but I was in tact, and so were my things minus the book. Shaking my head slightly in disbelief, I headed back to the school, wanting nothing more than to get back to my spot, eat my lunch, and resort to reading through Macbeth as my book was partially torn to shreds. It was either Macbeth or German, and frankly Macbeth seemed like the better choice at the time.

* * *

Sitting on my own, chicken wrap devoured, my thoughts were buried deep within the workings of Shakespeare. I checked the time on my phone, saw that I only had an hour and a half left of school, and sighed. I'd rather have stayed in the school the whole night than go home to _them._ I made a mental reminder to myself to try and pick up a new copy of _Frankenstein_ so I could finish reading it, and tried to re-bury myself into the horrific goings on of Scotland under the evil tyrant Macbeth's rule. I was unable to do this however, as the sound of something thudding to the ground outside caught my attention. It was a couple of bins, knocked over it seemed by the kind stranger from earlier. He was running, not very gracefully might I add, towards an old blue police box that stood in the ally that the window looked out onto. It was odd, I'd never noticed it before, but I simply put it down to faulty memory. What really perplexed me was when the man opened the door of the box, and I swear I caught a glimpse of a metal floor, leading in farther than it should have gone. I focused, trying to see if the distance from the 3rd story window and the box across the street was playing tricks on my eyes, but I was sure of what I'd seen. The door closed, but within five minutes the stranger reappeared out of it. I thought about knocking on the window and waving, but part of me stopped myself. I had to go and see that blue box, I had to check if it was real, without him knowing.

Making up my mind, I shoved the play into my bag and grabbed my coat, heading down the small staircases to avoid teachers. I couldn't go out the front door, as one of the office staff would see me and ask my why I wasn't in class, but the P.E hall had a side door that nobody ever used, and it came out just around the corner from where the box was. I prayed that there wouldn't be a class in there when I arrived, and somebody must have heard me because the hall was empty and silent. Quickly making my way towards the old fire door, I pushed it open with a great shove against stiff hinges, and I appeared on the street, the weather colder than before. Checking to be sure nobody saw me, I slowly closed the doors as quietly as I could, and made my way towards where I hoped the blue box would still be.

Of course, it was still there when I turned the corner, looking the same as five minutes ago. I scanned the area for the tall man, but there was no sign of him. As quickly as I could I made my way over the the box, standing beside it, hesitant to go in. It was weird, it was if I could hear a really low humming coming from inside, like an engine or something, but it was so faint I could only just make it out. Reaching forward, I placed my hand on one of the small, metal handles, and pushed in an attempt to open it. It didn't budge.

Trying again, this time with the other side of the door, it still wouldn't open. I tried them both again, but still no luck. I was starting to get frustrated when someone appeared behind me and I nearly had a heart attack.

"What are you doing?" a voice said, and as I spun round I saw it was the tall man from earlier.

"I-em- uh I just-umm," I tried to say, my brain shutting down in panic. "I just-I never noticed it here before and I- I saw you go into it and-"

The man just looked at me, as if trying to read me. I nervously stood there, wondering if I'd get in trouble for trying to break into his weird blue box. As if he could read my mind, he looked up. "It needs a key," he stated, pointing to the lock.

"Well, I figured that considering I couldn't open it," I replied, my nervousness replaced with sarcasm.

"Why did you want in it anyway?" The man asked, trying to read me again.

"I just- I saw you go into it and I swear it was bigger-" I tried to say, but he stopped me mid sentence.

"Ah ah ah, you don't get to say that till you see the inside," he said with a childish grin. "So, hello, I'm The Doctor."

He reached out and shook my hand, while I was still slightly confused. "Um, I'm Olivia," I said back, starting to wonder if I should be talking to this man. "Doctor? Bit of an odd name isn't it?"

"No, not at all. Now Olivia, shouldn't you be in school right now?"

"Well, technically yes, but nobody every notices that I'm gone from class so I've just sat and read all day," I admitted, shrugging my shoulders.

"Well then, would you be able to tell me if anything weird has been happening around lately? The Doctor asked.

"You mean besides strange men turning up with weird blue boxes? Nope, not that I can think off."

"Well then, we'd better go and try find it then," He said with a smile, running off in the other direction. It took me a good few seconds before I ran after him.

* * *

By the time I'd caught up to him I was out of breath. "You run fast, you know that?" I told him as I rested against a wall while he peered around a corner.

"Yes, I have to," he said cheerily, and turned to face me. "Why did you follow me?"

"You said 'we'. You said _we'd_ better go find it," I told him, not missing a beat. "Why we?"

"Because I knew you'd follow me," he said, a cheeky grin on his face. I had no idea who this man was, and I was pretty sure he was mad, but it was better than sitting reading Macbeth, I reasoned with myself.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" I asked, still unsure of his sanity.

"Something weird, something different, something unusual," I was told.

"That doesn't even begin to answer my question," I sighed. "So what_ specifically_?"

"Particles, alien particles. Funny little things, they get everywhere, but some of them can get angry.." he rambled, but I had to stop him.

"Whao whao whao, alien? _Alien_ particles? What _are_ you on about?" I asked, taken aback. True, we now knew that aliens were real due to events of recent years, especially Christmas, but to think that he was talking about them being there, in my home town, it made me take a double take. "Like the aliens that always appear at Christmas?"

"Ah yes, that's kind of my fault," he said, shrugging. "But yes! Aliens! Spaceships, time travel, strange new worlds!" He sounded so child-like, so immature, yet so old at the same time.

"Okay. So, alien particles, gotcha," I said, just accepting it all and going along with it. "So they're angry? Has something set them off?"

"Not something, someone. Someone is controlling them, using them as little hordes of energy," he explained, whipping the metal cylinder out of his pocket and pointing it around.

"What is that thing by the way?"

"It's my sonic screwdriver, it's sonic," he told me, as if it was just part of normal day-to-day life. I sighed, just going with it again. "Ah ha! There, right over there!"

The Doctor ran off again, leaving me to trail behind him. I sped after him, not sure if this was really what I ought to be doing with my time. But then I remembered that anything was better than Macbeth, so I just went for it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Will you please stop running everywhere?" I gasped as he finally stopped. We were in a rubbish skip, surrounded by old cars and scrap metal.

"Ah yes, makes perfect sense. Plenty of metal, plenty to convert into energy," The Doctor said, completely ignoring my comment.

"Wait, if they're converting metal into energy, isn't that a good thing? Like, they're recycling?" I asked. "Why stop them?"

"Yes, but what happens when they run out of the scrap? Cars, buildings, anything they can get a hold off will be eaten up. What's more, where is all the energy going."

"Em, I dunno, some spaceship ran out of fuel?" I guessed sarcastically.

"Ah! Olivia you are very clever indeed!" The Doctor yelled, waving the sonic screwdriver around. "Yes of course! A ship needs fuel, sends down alien particles to gather up all that energy and get it back to the ship. But if that's the case they'd need need at least the entire metal content of Scotland if they wanted to power even a small ship. Which means.. the country might now have any metal left soon."

"I was right? Huh, good guess," I shrugged. "So, how do we stop them?"

"We can't. We need to stop whoever's controlling them," he explained. "Come on, back to the TARDIS!"

"The what?" I called after him as he ran off.

"The blue box!" he yelled, motioning for me to keep up.

"Why do you call the box the TARDIS? Wait, if you're investigating all this alien stuff then does that mean you're alien as well?" I questioned. "Is that box your ship?"

"You are very clever, aren't you," The Doctor remarked with a smile as we stood outside the police box. "Well Olivia, would you like a look inside?"

I nodded excitedly, to which to The Doctor grinned. With a push the doors swung open, and I smiled at the sight before me.

A massive console, right in the middle, with turning circles up above covered in strange ruins. There were stairs going everywhere, with railings and buttons and switches and I felt like a 5 year old getting their first video game system at Christmas. I dashed forward, spinning around to take in all my surroundings. Blue and sliver flashed everywhere, and I couldn't do anything but turn to The Doctor and smile.

"Heh, yes! It's a space ship! But it doesn't just travel through space, is travels through time as well!" The Doctor exclaimed, dashing around the console and pushing buttons, acting just as excited as I was. "TARDIS; Time And Relative Dimension In Space! Time machine, space ship, swimming pool rolled into one!"

"This-it's-this is impossible! It's brilliantly impossible," I said, still in awe of what I was looking around at. "This is like- hang on, did you say swimming pool?"

"Yes, and a library, oh and a wardrobe as well! Basically this place has a lot of rooms in it okay," he grinned, sliding around on the balls of his feet, hitting leavers and dials. "So, shall we go investigate then?"

I looked at him and a smirk grew upon my face. "What are we waiting for," I said, running to his side. "Lets go flying."

He gave an almighty grin, threw a switch and quietly said "Hold on", as I was thrown sideways, grabbing onto the nearest railing as a cry of joy and excitement escaped my mouth. The Doctor gave a similar laugh back, before hitting more buttons and sweeping around the console. This time I lurched forward with the motions of the machine, nearly going flying into the console.

"Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?" I yelled over the sound of the engines.

"Not really, I threw the manual into a supernova!" he yelled back, letting out another laugh. "Ah ha! Basic cloaking device, perfect for hiding from earth technology, not so good for hiding from Gallifreyan."

He was looking at a small screen, and I ran over as best I could without falling, looking at the monitor. Displayed on it was a small angular craft, the outlines just visible on the screen. "That's what's controlling the particles?" I asked.

"Yes, it's a small ship, very well hidden. Still, a lot of energy would be needed to power that thing," he explained, tapping the screen. "Running on those engines I'm surprised they're managing to keep the cloaking device up."

"So what now? I can't see us just knocking on the door and politely asking them to stop," I said sceptically.

"Nah, they'd never listen," he agreed.

"Please tell me you're not planning to blow them up? I know they might purge the entire country of its metal, but still killing them hardly seems fair," I quickly resorted, hoping he would be better than that.

"What? No, No! No, no, no, I never do that," he said, a small smile on his face. "I like you, you're first thought isn't to blast them out of space."

"Space. Oh. _Oh_," I said, the sudden realisation hitting me that I was in space. "I'm in space. Wow, well, um, wow."

I was a little dazed, the thought of me being in space seeming entirely impossible. "I don't feel like I'm in space. Are you sure you're not just some mad man with a weird box?"

"You want space, well.." he said, reaching his hand out, offering me to take it. I was hesitant at first, but my curiosity took over and I placed my hand in his, and he grinned, leading me to the door. His grin growing bigger by the minute, he let go of my hand and opened the door.

My first instinct was to take in as much air as my lungs could hold when I was suddenly looking out into the void of space, earth down below me.

"It's fine, air pocket around the TARDIS, you're okay," The Doctor told me, and I let out a heavy breath.

"A little warning next time, you know, before you open a door and let me stare space in the face," I said, looking down onto earth. "So you really are a time traveller. Wow. Oh, do me a favour, can we go tell my younger self not to cut her own hair? There's an embarrassing photo of me somewhere that I want to get rid off."

"Nope, can't do that, time streams crossing, fixed points in history, timey wimey stuff, yadda yadda yadda," he said, closing the doors. "Anyway, about this bunch."

"Can't you just hack into their systems and stop the particles? I'm presuming they're technologically controlled because everything alien seems to be that way, so just give them a different command to leave or something," I suggested, trying to help. This man was probably an alien, and by the looks of his space ship quite a smart alien, so I had to do something to protect the pride of earthling intelligence.

And I think I did going by the look of pure glee on his face.

"Olivia, have I told you how clever you are yet?" He asked me, pushing more buttons. "Because you really are _very_ clever."

"Did I guess right again?" I asked, joining him by the small screen. He gave a nod and a smile, and the sound of static came from the monitor.

"Ah, hello! Yes, I'm The Doctor, this is Olivia, she's very smart. We were wondering if you could possibly stop your little particles from eating the metal of an entire county? They still need it for alot of things." The Doctor said, presumable to the other ship.

"Did you just tell aliens about me? Wow, I'm honoured," I mumbled to him, but the reply coming from the other end of the communication grabbed my attention.

"We cannot. We must collect the energy in order to leave this solar system," a rough, gritty voice said.

"Solar system? Okay, they're going to need more than just a country. Make it more like 60 times what I said in the first place," The Doctor said to me, before addressing the other ship. "I'm afraid we can't let you do that. Plus, the sun has plenty of energy, why not just take some from that?"

"Doing so would deplete the life of it by half. This would inter fear with life on the planet you call Earth," the reply came.

"What, and eating up half of the world metal isn't?"

"Metal be be forged from raw materials. They will make more."

"Not at the speed you're eating it up. I could give you some energy from the TARDIS if your engines were stronger," The Doctor told them. "Stop the particles, and we can come aboard and upgrade the engines so they can cope with the energy from our ship."

"Why should we trust you?" the voice asked after a pause.

"Because I'm nice. See? We're nice friendly people," he said with a slight sigh. There would sound of discussion on the other end, yet we finally got a reply.

"Very well. If you come on board with any weapons you will be killed on sight. Do not misuse our trust, Doctor."

The communications channel closed and I looked at him with a confused look.

"Did you just agree to go onto the ship with the hostile aliens that plan to kill you on sight if they see any weapons?"

"Yes."

"And are we going to go aboard without any weapons?"

"Yes."

"Good. Lets hope we don't get killed."

"I should think so."

"Yeah. Em, quick question, how exactly do we get on board? Do we beam over or just jump?"

"We land."

* * *

After another session of getting thrown around the TARDIS as The Doctor attempted to pilot it, we'd landed on the other ship, or so he said. I honestly couldn't tell.

"Ready?" he asked me.

"Yeah, lets go fix an alien space ship," I said sarcastically. The Doctor gave me a smile and opened the doors. Walking out, I saw that we were now in a dark and damp corridor, smelling of copper and oil. Turning around, I saw the TARDIS, now looking normal size for a blue police box. I questioned how the weight of the ship I saw inside could no weigh down the ship we were currently in, but my thoughts were whisked away as the sound of stomping came around the corner.

Five tall, muscular figured marched towards us, surrounding us and pointing electrical-looking tridents at our chests. The Doctor raised his hands above his head, and I followed suit as one of the figures stepped forward.

"State your name," it commanded, voice almost robotic.

"Ah, yes, I'm The Doctor! Unarmed, see?" he said, showing his empty hands. I tried to articulate words, but staring into the face of an alien who towered above me took away my ability to speak. Until The Doctor gave me a soft shove with his elbow.

"I, Um, I-I'm Olivia Brooke, also unarmed," I managed to stammer, the fear evident in my voice.

"You will come with us. Any hostility will be punished," the figure spoke again, and we followed it out of the corridor, tridents still pointing at at. In the better light I could see what they looked like; covered in blue scale-like armour, with large masks covering their face. They were leading us to the engine room, and as soon as we arrived we were greeted by more pointy weapons and commands.

"You will modify the engines and then give us sufficient energy to leave this solar system. You have one earth hour to complete your task, if you do not complete it by then you will be expelled into space," The figure spoke again, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Through the small window we could see two guards standing by.

"Well, they seem lovely," I said to The Doctor sarcastically.

"They're not the actual aliens, they're just the work drones. This ship'll only have about three or four living members on board," he explained, getting his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and scanning the engine. It was a copper colour, with the room having the same oily smell as the corridor, but the engine looked way more advanced then anything I'd ever seen before.

"Can you actually fix this?" I asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't be too hard, just a few couplets here, a change of the electron settings, and they're good to go. Should only take a few minutes, but we've got an hour to kill so why not explore?" he said with a grin.

"Didn't tall dark and weird just tell us that if we were hostile we'd be thrown into space?"

"Yeah, but what's life without a little risk?"

"So, exploring an alien space ship? I get to see two in one day, lucky me."

"Hehe, that's the spirit! Now let me just do this and we can be on our merry way."

"I wonder if this ship has a swimming pool as well?" I laughed sarcastically as he got on with his work. True to his word, I was only waiting five minutes before he was finished. His hands were covered in oil and grease, but he didn't seem to mind. Pointing the sonic at the door, it slip open, much to the dismay of the guards.

"It's okay, we're finished! Just going back to our ship to get a spanner!" he said hastily when the weapons were raised to us once more. The guards processed the information before lowering their tridents and letting us past, but of course we weren't going back to the TARDIS. "See, drones. Not much of a threat unless they get a command."

"So where are we going?"

"To find out why they're here. Earth gets lots of passer-bys, but none this close to the planet. It was as if they were heading straight for it," he explained, heading straight down a corridor.

"So you think that once we give them the energy, they won't just leave? You think they'll attack earth?"

"Something of that sort. Which is why I need to get into the computer, to find out why they're _really_ here."

I followed him through corridors, until he finally came to a door. Signalling for me to stay quiet, he put his ear to the door, and I did the same.

"..really leave this place? He is more stupid then we presumed."

"Hush brother. The Doctor is one of the most dangerous men in the universe, I would not speak so weakly off him. But I must agree, he is foolish to believe that we would simply leave. We have unfinished business."

"Our buyers will pay a high price for Earth in good condition, we must be sure to preserve it well."

I looked over to The Doctor, who was now fiddling with his sonic. "What are you doing?" I whispered over the low buzz.

"Trying to disrupt the frequencies of the ships communications. We don't need any interruptions," he said, bursting through the door without any warning and bringing me with him. As I stumbled forward the two who we'd heard stood up and readied they're weapons, looking slightly more humanoid than the drones but still with the scale-like armour.

"What are you doing in here?" the taller of the pair hissed.

"Oh you know, going for a walk, stretching the legs, making sure you're not planning to sell out earth, the usual," The Doctor said nonchalantly. "Now, who exactly are your buyers?"

"That is information you do not need to know! Leave now, or you will be killed!" the other threatened.

"No, I am not leaving until you tell me why you are here? Who sent you? Who is your buyer?"

"We do not know, he never spoke his name! His commands were sent by voice loop, we never saw his face!" The tall one hissed again, the panic in his voice rising. "We were told to bring back Earth, preserved!"

"How do you preserve a planet?" I asked, but none of them took any heed. The Doctor had fire in his eyes, like I'd never seen before. He would fight to protect Earth at all costs.

"Leave now, and I will let you go peacefully," The Doctor offered, pointing the sonic at a computer screen.

"We cannot return without the planet! Our buyer was specific in saying that there would be consequences if we did not return with it."

"Well then give him a message, from me. Tell him that if he wants the earth, he'll have to go through me. Earth, is, and always shall be, under my protection."

"You cannot force us to return! We _will_ take the planet, you cannot stop us!"

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

With a flash, sparks came flying from the screen. The figures hissed at us, as The Doctor took my hand.

"Ready to run?" he asked

"The running never stops with you does it?"

"Never."

We were rushing through the corridors, the ship trembling and throwing us off balance. I could hear the guards following us, their metallic feet clunking and crashing. We crashed through the TARDIS doors, barely escaping in time, and I was left collapsed in an exhausted heap by the wall as The Doctor ran around the console, pressing buttons and pulling leavers once more. I heard the rumble of the engines, and stood up and latched onto a rail before I got thrown about again.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled over the rumbling.

"Giving the engines power!"

"Didn't we establish that as the thing we weren't supposed to do?

"I deadlocked their computer, remember! The ship will take itself back to wherever it came from!"

"Are sure that'll work?"

"No!"

I lurched forward, screaming a mix of excitement and terror and The Doctor gave an almighty laugh. It seemed as if it did work after all.

"Can I relax now? You know, without the threat of being stabbed by aliens?" I asked, sighing as the ship stabilised.

"Yes, just let me drop you back off at school," he said, pressing a few buttons.

"What? Oh, school, yeah, that," I said with a sigh. I didn't want to go back to that place, where I'd sit in my spot then go home to a night of more tv shows and internet. After what had happened in the past hour, normal life seemed so boring. How could I got back knowing that I'd been to space and back?

The Doctor must have noticed my sadness, as he walked over to me. Again, he tried to read my face. "Olivia, what are your parents like?" he asked softly.

"They act like I don't exist. They're so caught up in their own lives they forget they even have a daughter." I admitted, looking to my shoes. A moment of silence hung over us.

"Come with me," he stated, smiling.

"What?"

"Come with me. Travelling the universe, seeing planets, saving galaxies, flying around through space and time! Come with me!"

"But my- wont people ask if I suddenly go missing?"

"It's a time machine! You can be off to the end of the universe and be back in time for bed. So, what d'you say?"

"Yes. Yes, yes, a million times yes!" I grinned. I was being offered a chance to travel through the stars, who would be stupid enough to deny that?

"Then it's settled Olivia. Welcome to the rest of the universe!" he smiled, picking me up into a massive bear hug.

"Okay. I'm going to be travelling, right? Drop me off and meet me at the house at 6. I'll have everything packed by then," I told him, to which he nodded.

He dropped me off at the school as I asked, just as the bell for the day to end rang. Making my way home, I took to more populated route this time, looking around at all the people who didn't even know I existed, and I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I though to the adventure ahead. My life was about to become full of stars.


End file.
